Six restaurant social media tactics that moved the needle

RSMI BWW

Eclipsing Facebook engagement of an earlier “Keep It Simple, Stupid” post of “Mmmmmm. Beer,” Buffalo Wild Wings on June 27 had another pared-down post that yielded massive engagement. A picture of a glass of beer and the test of “Who could use a drink right about now?” produced more than 60,000 Facebook “likes,” more than 2,250 comments and was shared more than 2,100 times.

RSMI Red Mango

The 194-unit Red Mango introduced the Twitter handle of @ChefHoneyBadger along with a new honey-based frozen yogurt flavor named for the very popular — at least on YouTube — Honey Badger character, tying into the cultural icon. The @ChefHoneyBadger Twitter persona is as snarky and irascible as the YouTube version.

RSMI Chick-fil-A

While the July-August controversy over same-sex marriage did not affect the brand’s Restaurant Social Media Index ranking in the second quarter, the company notably went dark in social media in the wake of the third-quarter flap. The company only used Facebook to get its message out on a recall of Jim Henson toys and quell a rumor, and it went silent on Twitter between July 25 and Aug. 6.

RSMI Olive Garden

The Darden Restaurants division got good traction with the old-fashioned $5 off coupon repurposed through social media on Facebook. The discount for two dinner entrees was shared more than 11,500 times after its March 30 introduction.

RSMI Subway

Subway’s Facebook page in the third quarter conducted a “find-the-avocado” series to highlight its guacamole menu item. The series produced high customer engagement, as did a simple post of “Everything is better with avocado…True or false?!” That one post received more than 31,000 Facebook “likes,” more than 6,000 comments and was shared nearly 1,400 times.

RSMI Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse has been working at the unit levels to increase engagement, especially on Twitter, with its neighborhood guests. The chain saw high social engagement through a Facebook post of its Cheese Fries during the last quarter.